Copy
View this email in your browser
Welcome to City of Boroondara’s Food Safety Newsletter, which provides current advice and information for running a safe food business.

In this edition of the newsletter, we discuss:
  • The role of our Environmental Health Officers and the law
  • Common mistakes and how to avoid them - and remain compliant
  • Food safety during power outages
  • Tea towel and staff hygeine 
We look forward to continuing to support food businesses in Boroondara.
Working together to protect our community

Keeping our community safe is one of our top priorities. Our Environmental Health Officers play a pivotal role in improving community health, safety and wellbeing, and are here to support businesses comply with the Food Act 1984.

Why do our Officers inspect food businesses in Boroondara?
  • Education and guidance - providing best practices and latest tips.
  • Council has a legal obligation to register, inspect and monitor food premises.
  • To ensure there are positive environmental health outcomes for our community and your customers.
  • To advise and support traders.
It’s important for businesses to work together with Officers and implement their advice to produce food that is safe and suitable to eat. Any misconduct or unacceptable behaviour towards Environmental Health Officers will be reported and may be serious enough to constitute a criminal offence.

We sincerely thank local businesses in Boroondara who continue to work with us to protect our community.

To learn more about Victoria's food regulations, visit the
Food Regulation page on the Department of Health website.
Common mistakes that lead to failed inspections - and how to avoid them

Penalty Infringements currently impose a fine of up to $1,842 per offence. Prosecutions can result in Court-ordered penalties in the tens of thousands of dollars, and could result in a criminal conviction for the business and director of the business. 

The best way to avoid such action is to listen and implement the advice of the Environmental Health Officer as they support you in complying with the requirements of your registration and Food Standards Code.
 
We’ve gathered the top reasons why businesses are failing inspections, and what you can do to avoid this:

 
Cleaning and sanitising

Council will escalate enforcement if Environmental Health Officers find:
  • Businesses that are in a poor state of cleanliness
  • Have no knowledge of cleaning and sanitising requirements
  • Have a history of non-compliance
What you can do
 
Temperature control: Food needs to be maintained below 5°C or above 60°C, and frozen foods must be thawed overnight in the refrigerator (not in sinks or on benches).
 
Food handler hygiene: Wash your hands before returning to food handling activities, use gloves properly, keep long hair tied back, nails short and jewellery off.
 
Some mistakes commonly seen at premises are not washing hands correctly or washing hands at the wrong sink. As a proprietor, it is important to ensure that staff build good personal hygiene habits.
 
For more information on food safety, enforcement and penalties, visit the
Department of Health website.
Cleaning and sanitising schedule and steps

Step 1: Pre-clean - Remove any loose dirt and food particles and rinse with water.
Step 2: Wash - With hot water and detergent.
Step 3: Rinse - Remove any loose dirt and detergent.
Step 4: Sanitise - Apply sanitiser as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Step 5: Final Rinse - Wash off the sanitiser (only if required in the manufacturer’s instructions)
Step 6: Air Dry - If you prefer to use towels, they need to be clean dry and single use only. 


Cleaning involves the removal of any loose dirt, food particles and grease before sanitising. Sanitising destroys pathogenic micro-organisims.

View the video below for more information on cleaning and sanitising:
Allergen awareness - more reports of anaphylaxis

Due to an increased risk posed by allergens and a rise in anaphylaxis notifications to the Department of Health, Councils have been directed to focus strongly on allergen awareness education for businesses to protect customers, staff and business.

An Environmental Health Officer will assess your allergen awareness and risks when conducting your annual Food Act inspection. If deficiencies are found, your business will fail the inspection and be issued with a Critical Warning.
 
Visit the
Food Allergy Training website to stay up to date with allergy management strategies in food businesses.

Checklist for receiving food deliveries

  • Wrapped: Non-perishable items must be protected from contamination by either wrapping, packaging, boxing or covering.
  • Undamaged: Check the packaging is not damaged and is free from water, mould, rust, dents, and leaks.
  • Labels: Are batch codes, expiry or use-by dates clearly marked?
  • Correct temperature: When receiving potentially hazardous food, ensure you only accept the temperature at:
    - 5°C or below; or
    - 60°C or above, or
    - Hard frozen when you accepted it.
Do not rely on the vehicle gauge temperature reading.

Tea towel tips 


The Food Laws do not expressly prohibit using tea towels in a kitchen. However, food businesses are responsible for ensuring tea towels don’t contaminate food.
 
If you use tea towels, ensure they are:
  • Washed and sanitised regularly
  • Not used to cover and protect food
  • Not used as a means of washing or drying hands
  • Not used if wet or visibly soiled, dirty or damaged.
For more information, please see Food Safety Standards (Chapter 3).
Power outages
 
Australia’s recent energy crisis may lead to more power outages, which makes it challenging to keep food safe in storage.

You’ve heard of the unofficial ‘5-second rule’ for your kid’s food. For businesses, it’s a 4-hour rule for both hot or cold/frozen food.


Simple rules to increase safety when the lights go out: 
  • Hot food: Eat it within 4 hours of it being heated, or throw it away.
  • Cold and frozen food: Eat it within 4 hours - if it’s no longer cold to touch, it must be thrown away. If it’s raw meat, cook it before you eat it.
  • Repack cold and frozen food: Move food from the fridge to the freezer. Put bagged ice under food packages and trays stored in freezers and fridges (if power failure lasts more than 1 hour). Place an insulating blanket over cold or frozen food, where possible. Keep it below 5°C to keep it safe.
  • If power is restored when frozen food is still frozen solid, the food is safe.
Read more about food safety during power outages on the Department of Health website.
Three ways to keep pests out

Pests contaminate food by spreading bacteria and disease - here are three controls to help keep them out of your food business.

1: Build them out
Do not allow pests to enter your business in the first place. This is the best level of control you can have. Seal any gaps in floors, walls, ceilings and around window and door openings. Keep windows and doors closed or fitted with pest strips, flywire or air curtains.
 
2: Starve them out
Keep your business clean and free from food, grease or other visible matter. Open food packets should be stored in food-grade containers with tight-fitting lids. A daily, weekly and fortnightly cleaning schedule will help you achieve this.
 
3: Chase them out
Have a regular pest control program in place. This could involve professional pest control to monitor and control pests, or self-pest control such as setting traps and baits. However, ensure pest control activities do not contaminate food within the business.
 
For more information, see the
Department of Health website. 
Do you have any questions about food safety you want to know more about? Email your questions to health.services@boroondara.vic.gov.au and we’ll cover it in an edition of the newsletter.






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
City of Boroondara · eCommunications · 8 Inglesby Road · Camberwell, VIC 3124 · Australia